Which of these 3 Diesels to buy?

DubDani

As I will have to drive much more from now on I will have to switch to a Diesel. As my budget isn't huge I have narrowed it down to the following 4 cars, which all cost about the same:

02 Renault Laguna DCI 95000 miles
01 Ford Mondeo TDDI 98000 miles
98 VW Passat 125000 miles
2001 Octavia 115000 miles

Resale Value is not important as I will most likely keep it and drive it into the ground (30k miles a year). MPG and overall reliability is quite important to me. But I am aware that these cars will have it's problems with time.

- the Laguna is very well equipped and gets a good mpg
- mondeo looks well, but it is the TDDI machine, which is supposed to be crap and has a not so good fuel economy
- VW Passat is reliable, but much older then the other two
- Octavio is supposed to be a workhorse, but know very little about it.

What do you think would be best?

Cheers,
DubDani

siralfalot

IMO you should have an Alfa / Fiat JTD engine on that list, they do afterall make the best diesel engines

Henry Ford III

This one?

Laguna will break down, possibly frequently.

Mondeo TDDI is not refined enough. LX spec not great either.

Passat is too old, and not worth a premium.

Octavia is the worlds best car. Huge boot.

R.O.R

Laguna is likely to breakdown

Passat is a good bit older than the others in consideration.

Octavia shares much of the components with the Passat on a slightly smaller wheelbase.

I did 30,000 miles a year in a 2001 Mondeo 2.0Tddi Zetec 115ps, only problem I had was snapping a gearbox mounting - but that was my fault (brisk take off in the wet, lots of axle tramp). Avoid the LX version as it's a 90ps engine, but the 115 version is the Zetec is pretty good. I was getting about 500 - 550 miles out of tank (enough to get through a week, Drogheda to Sandyford M1 / M50).

Liam Wicklow

Mondeo

Mondeo

Mondeo.

Thats not a tough one

RobAMerc

Has to be Mondeo its light years ahead of the others dynamically.
Should be fairly reliable too.

stag39

any hdi enginge i have a peugeot 406 2ltr hdi an get 800 miles for 67 ltrs:D

unkel

What the others said, but make sure you get the TDCI, not the TDDI if you go for a Mondeo. What's your budget?

Dark horse1: PSA diesel. There's a '01 €5.5k Citroen C5 on adverts.ie with very low miles. Harder to shift than aids, hence super cheap

Dark horse2: Rover 75 diesel. Similar prices as above and it's got the BMW diesel engine (same as in 320d)

prospect

Assuming a budget of about €7K, based on your choices, and you obviously require a large family car, here are others that fit the bill:

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=637607

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=736550

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=678039

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=672884

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=736070

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=736167

unkel

You joking, prospect? :eek:

Who wants a non-spec Focus LX or a Primera that looks like it belongs in the 80s? And don't even get me started on that prehistoric engine in the 318tds...;)

Cionád

If it were me id go for the SEAT Toledo 110bhp, drives well, plenty of power & dont look too shabby either.

prospect

unkel wrote:

You joking, prospect? :eek:

Who wants a non-spec Focus LX or a Primera that looks like it belongs in the 80s? And don't even get me started on that prehistoric engine in the 318tds...;)

Hehehe, I wasn't sure about the 318, but figured I'd throw it in, seeing as recommending old and/or low spec BMW's for almost everything seems to be cool around here.

Seriously, the OP wants something reliable, frugal, on a budget. Age and looks don't seem to be an issue, I mean the 2001 octavia is not exactly the benchmark for looks or driving dynamics and it is on the OPs list, (it does have a huge boot and the TDi could power france).
The Focus and Primera seem to fit the bill nicely. Also, I was only adding fairly random carzone links. I am sure better examples can be found with a bit of research.

maidhc

unkel wrote:

You joking, prospect? :eek:

Who wants a non-spec Focus LX or a Primera that looks like it belongs in the 80s? And don't even get me started on that prehistoric engine in the 318tds...;)

For the OPs budget a TDDI focus or mondeo would make sense.

He needs a car that can do 30k pa on a handy budget.

For this a tddi will be extremely reliable (id take a TDDI with 200k over a TDCI with 200k), and a Focus will do a comfortable 50mpg.

It is silly dwelling on looks or spec. The number of tidy low milage diesels of whatever type on the market is very limited. Beggars really cannot be choosers.

And the TDDI isn't a bad engine!

I'd agree with getting a HDI powered car. Dunno about Rover...

EDIT: Prospect beat me to it...

whosedaddy?

@Unkel: Why is the C5 so hard to shift?

Am in similar situation (on 10k budget), but resale might be issue...

unkel

maidhc wrote:

For the OPs budget

Not sure what his budget is. If about €4k then a TDCI is probably too expensive alright. But by mentioning an '01 Octavia, I reckon the budget is probably more like €6k or even a bit more, so a TDCI is well within budget (see HFIIIs link)

maidhc wrote:

a tddi will be extremely reliable (id take a TDDI with 200k over a TDCI with 200k)

The OP buys a decent car now with 100k on it and will drive it into the ground. Maintain it well and he might get 3 years out of it, he might get 6 years - hard to tell. That applies to most of the cars mentioned

maidhc wrote:

It is silly dwelling on looks or spec. The number of tidy low milage diesels of whatever type on the market is very limited. Beggars really cannot be choosers

Good point.

prospect wrote:

Hehehe, I wasn't sure about the 318

Apparently it is pretty much the same as the old 2.5l diesel engine with 2 cylinders chopped off. Anybody that does that to a 6-pot BMW engine shoot be shot

whosedaddy? wrote:

@Unkel: Why is the C5 so hard to shift?

Nobody wants one. Here it is - bargain!

whosedaddy?

I figured that much... :-)
But is it cause they are ugly or expensive to run or just unreliable cars...

R.O.R

unkel wrote:

Not sure what his budget is. If about €4k then a TDCI is probably too expensive alright. But by mentioning an '01 Octavia, I reckon the budget is probably more like €6k or even a bit more, so a TDCI is well within budget (see HFIIIs link)

I'd be pretty sure that is advertised incorrectly as as TDCi and is infact a TDDi. TDCi 115ps version wasn't put in to Mondeo until 2002/2003 from what I can remember. I had an early 01 plate Mondeo Zetec Diesel and that was definately the TDDi.


As for C5's! Think the hydro - pneumatic suspension puts people off a bit, ride isn't for everyone and the suspension can start to leak (although it's relatively cheap and easy to fix apparently). I be more worried by the fact we currently have an 05 1.6hdi with about 90,000km on the clock that spends 3-4 days a month in whichever Citroen dealer is closest to the driver when it chugs to a halt at the side of the road. So far it's had:

Gearbox x 3
Clutch x 3
Flywheel
New Radiator Fan

BrianD3

I'd agree with maidhc in that beggars can't be choosers in this case. It is not an ideal situation to be looking at 5-10 year old cars with 100k and planning to put another 30k a year on. Engines should be fine if looked after but a hard driven car on Irish roads could well need a lot of suspension and steering work as well as brake discs,clutches and the like. There are also a lot of badly maintained cars out there. One problem with mid sized diesel cars is they can often get used as tractor substitutes eg used to tow trailers that are far heavier than the car was designed for and just general abuse and lack of maintenance by owners who think they're "savage yokes" and "bombproof"

Basically I'd be more interested on service history and condition than make. Eg the Passat with 125k may be a better bet than the Mondeo with 80k. A well maintained Laguna that has had a few common niggles sorted by the previous owner could be a very good buy. Etc.

Henry Ford III

R.O.R wrote:

I'd be pretty sure that is advertised incorrectly as as TDCi and is infact a TDDi. TDCi 115ps version wasn't put in to Mondeo until 2002/2003 from what I can remember. I had an early 01 plate Mondeo Zetec Diesel and that was definately the TDDi.

Good shout.

130bhp TDCI introduced May 2001
115bhp TDCI introduced Mar 2002.

unkel

R.O.R wrote:

I'd be pretty sure that is advertised incorrectly as as TDCi and is infact a TDDi. TDCi 115ps version wasn't put in to Mondeo until 2002/2003 from what I can remember. I had an early 01 plate Mondeo Zetec Diesel and that was definately the TDDi

You're right! I had to look it up, the TDCi didn't arrive until December '01. And that was the 130BHP, the 115BHP was not introduced until sometime in '02. The license plate is on the link is from early '01 so it must be a TDDi

New 128bhp 2.0 litre chain-cam 16v common rail direct injected TDCi diesel with 243lb ft (329Nm)torque finally arrived in UK from December 2001

I presume the introduction in Ireland and the UK are pretty much at the same time...

OKenora

Putting up big miles in a car emans you gotta look at 2 things,

1 : will the engine take it and
2 : Do I like sitting here for several hours a day

Best diesel engine on the road these days is the Fiat JTD, so that leaves you a choice of a Fiat, Alfa, Vauxhall or SAAB

Next best is the PSA one so that adds in nearly anything french, Volvos and newer Fords

The 2 that stand out for me on their proposed reliability are the Volvos and SAAB's. A nice S40 might fit the bill or a 9-3

On a nice place to be front, has to be the Alfa 156 and if you get a well cared for Alfa then they are no more likely to break down than any of the other cars mentioned, less likely to break down than some, and will have most the niggly type faults they did have already sorted. Alfa diesels do not suffer from reliability problems the same as the Alfa petrols and all in are a better car.

Lex Luthor

it's gotta be one of these

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=679807
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=681093

Rudolph Claus

Next best is the PSA one so that adds in nearly anything french, Volvos and newer Fords

Which of the Fords have Peugeot engines out of interest, is the TDCi the Psa engines your referring to?

maidhc

Nuttzy wrote:

Which of the Fords have Peugeot engines out of interest, is the TDCi the Psa engines your referring to?

Focus 1.6 and the 2.0 (2005 model on)

I think the new Mondeo 2.2 will have a PSA unit too.

The 1.8 TDCI in the Focus and the 1.8 and 2.0 in the Mondeo are Ford units.

maidhc

Lex Luthor wrote:

it's gotta be one of these

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=679807
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=681093

Lovely cars, but expensive when you can get a 2001 petrol Alfa 156 for...free...

Lex Luthor

maidhc wrote:

Lovely cars, but expensive when you can get a 2001 petrol Alfa 156 for...free...

OP wants a diesel though

whats up with the 156?

mondeoman

http://www.fordmondeo.org/wiki/index.php/Engines_-_Diesel_Models#2.0_Duratorq_Di_115hp.2F85kwthe car in Henrys link is a Duratorq Di(115) built 11/00;)
Which is a TDDi 115

bazz26

DubDani wrote:

As I will have to drive much more from now on I will have to switch to a Diesel. As my budget isn't huge I have narrowed it down to the following 4 cars, which all cost about the same:

02 Renault Laguna DCI 95000 miles
01 Ford Mondeo TDDI 98000 miles
98 VW Passat 125000 miles
2001 Octavia 115000 miles

Resale Value is not important as I will most likely keep it and drive it into the ground (30k miles a year). MPG and overall reliability is quite important to me. But I am aware that these cars will have it's problems with time.

- the Laguna is very well equipped and gets a good mpg
- mondeo looks well, but it is the TDDI machine, which is supposed to be crap and has a not so good fuel economy
- VW Passat is reliable, but much older then the other two
- Octavio is supposed to be a workhorse, but know very little about it.

What do you think would be best?

Cheers,
DubDani

How about a Peugeot 406:
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=737620
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=715751

Or if an low mileage diesel estate doesn't bother you:
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=732091

Or buy something cheaper and through it away when it breaks:
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carid=642505

unkel

That 1 owner, '02 €5k 406 diesel seems like a good deal, bazz26. The 406 is a well built car with decent reliability

Oops - UK reg! So what is the ad on about NCT until July '07?

Anyway VRT will add €2.5k to the asking price...

bazz26

unkel wrote:

That 1 owner, '02 €5k 406 diesel seems like a good deal, bazz26. The 406 is a well built car with decent reliability

Oops - UK reg! So what is the ad on about NCT until July '07?

Anyway VRT will add €2.5k to the asking price...

Yeah typically the price is attractive until you add VRT to the equation. I reckon the NCT info could be a typo or a field on the carzone website that needed to be filled in. If not then there could well be something dodgy going on.

The other 406, an Irish car, looks decent too (at least the inside does from the photo) and could well be bought for €6k with a bit of bargining. The 406 being French is typically very comfortable too to sit in and drive which is a major importance imo when doing 30k miles a year.

Other cheap French diesels:
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=684833
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=731052
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=746700

Or if as depreciation is not an issue for the OP then a 2004 156 1.9 litre 140bhp, asking €11,500 but seller is leaving the country so I reckon it could be picked up for under €11k:
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=738276

OKenora

And that last alfa above is a well cared for car too though above the OP's budget methinks